On Jun. 25, 1996, twenty-three died and hundreds were injured as a result of a terrorist attack on the United States Air Force housing complex on King Abdul Aziz Airbase outside Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The carnage was caused by flying debris from the glass windows which were explosively shattered by the bomb that was detonated over one-quarter of a mile away. The United States Defense Special Weapons Agency ("DSWA") estimated that glass fragmentation caused ninety percent (90%) of all injuries. The conventional glass windows were shattered by the force of the explosive overpressure directly or indirectly applied to them.
Several attempts to reduce the hazards of glass shrapnel have yielded limited success. Military forces housed in buildings may be protected by replacing conventional glass windows with synthetic materials such as acrylic or polycarbonate which will not shatter and produce high velocity projectiles. This solution is undesirable for a number of reasons. First, the mass of material required to resist overpressure on the order of three pounds per square inch (3 psi) (.about.500 psf) is very large. As a result, a window pane would be very thick, very heavy and viewing would be significantly distorted. Building construction methods would also have to be modified to accommodate the added bulk and weight. Window receiving pans or receptors inset within a wall would also need to be significantly strengthened or redesigned.
Another attempt to reduce shrapnel concerns methods and apparatus to allow the overpressure to be reduced by redirecting or dissipating its effects.
The development of a window system which would substantially reduce the danger of flying shrapnel would fulfill a long felt but unmet need. Such an innovation would also constitute a significant advance in the field of window technology.